Hi, I'm Zach Toombs for About.com, and tonight we're talking about the first emperor of unified China, Qin Shi Huang.Qin was emperor between the years 221 and 210 B.C. Before that, he was king of the State of Qin. His state conquered the six other warring states, and the seven of them eventually formed unified China.Under Qin's leadership, the dynasty built parts of what would become the Great Wall. The wall was designed to protect the Qin Dynasty from the attacks of the nomadic tribes located in its north and northwest.To keep stability under his rule, Qin ordered book burnings, oppressed scholars and killed almost half of the dynasty's population. He standardized the dynasty's language and established its written version. The unifying language proved to be crucial in the foundation of later empires.After his death at the age of 48 or 49, Qin was buried in a mausoleum guarded by the famed Terracotta Army. Now an iconic tourist destination, current estimates say 8,000 life-sized Terracotta soldiers were built to protect Qin in his afterlife. Building the tomb took almost 38 years.Thanks for watching our quick overview of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor. For more information be sure to check out About.com